Steinberg Portico plug-ins announced

Rupert Neve Designs sound in your DAW

Steinberg have announced two new plug-ins based on two Rupert Neve Designs (RND) hardware processors. The release follows last year’s announcement of a partnership between Rupert Neve Designs and Steinberg’s parent company, Yamaha.Portico 5033</strong>

First up is the 5033, a five-band parametric EQ with three fully parametric bands, plus a high and a low shelf. The three mid bands each have a ±12dB range and a continuously variable Q control. The frequency ranges for the three parametric bands also have a healthy amount of overlap, both with each other and with the two shelving filters. Frequencies for the LF and HF shelves are also sweepable, from 30Hz to 300Hz and 2.5kHz to 25kHz, respectively, and these two bands also have a gain range of ±12dB. Finally, a ±12dB Trim control sets the plug-in’s input level, and a bypass button allows you to A/B the dry and processed signals.

The UI is based on the hardware version’s front panel, with its staggered control knobs and illuminated buttons, but it has been augmented in the software version by the inclusion of a graph, which displays the EQ’s response curve.

Portico 5043</strong>Next we have the 5043, based on the Portico compressor. Another faithful emulation, this features all the usual compression parameters (threshold, ratio, attack, release and make-up gain), plus a switch labelled FB, which switches between feed-back and feed-forward compression characteristics. Broadly speaking, the former results in smoother gain changes, while the latter has a faster response and a more modern sound.

Like the hardware, the UI features a stereo input level meter, and another meter indicating the amount of gain reduction being applied.

Both the new plug-ins come in VST 3, VST 2.4 and AU versions, and are priced at £422 each. Alternatively, they will be available as a bundle for £677.